FOOD

FOOD; Hominy Still Has Its Place in American Cooking

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Published: March 7, 1993

SUMMER'S glorious crop of fresh corn on the cob from local farms and the year-round availability of fresh, frozen and canned sweet corn have rendered dried corn kernels obsolete. But now there is renewed interest in this traditional winter staple, also called hominy. The popularity of Mexican and Southwestern cooking has led to new appreciation for dishes based on dried corn.

In these cuisines, hominy seasoned with chili is simmered slowly for hours, often with the addition of pork or chicken, resulting in a hearty, lusty rib-sticking stew -- good cold-weather fare.

What is less known is that stewed hominy was once as much an everyday dish in the Northeast as it is in the Southwest. It was often called samp, a Narragansett term. In this part of the country, the dried corn kernels were soaked overnight along with white beans, then stewed for many hours with a piece of pork until the mixture turned into a starchy, porridge-like mixture.

Years ago, the community cookbooks compiled to benefit the Ladies Village Improvement Society of East Hampton, L.I., waxed nostalgic about samp. "Exiles from home often write back here inquiring where it can be bought," said the books, written in 1948 and 1955. They explained that "samp porridge has been a great Long Island dish since the 1640's." By 1975 the information about samp and the recipe had disappeared from the cookbooks' pages.

Samp, overcooked and underseasoned like much of the food of the English colonies, hardly excites today's palate. But cook it until it is tender yet not ready to dissolve, and give it a jolt of spice, and it becomes a different and far more compelling story. This is how samp is turned into its rustic Southwestern or Mexican cousin, pozole.

And these days finding the basic ingredient for samp is no longer as daunting as it was a few years ago. It is sold in bags or boxes, often with seasonings included, in the Mexican food section. Hominy is simply corn that has been dried and treated to remove the heavy exterior hull on each kernel. The kernels are soaked in water mixed with slaked lime or a combination of lime and wood ash to soften the hulls so they can be removed, a technique that predates Columbus. The hulled kernels are thoroughly rinsed, then dried or canned.

Whether it's called hominy, pozole or samp, preparing it from scratch starting with the dried hulled corn involves first soaking the corn overnight, then draining it, adding fresh water and seasonings and simmering about three hours. Salt, which inhibits the softening of the grain, should be added only at the end of the cooking time.

Cooked, seasoned hominy can be served as a side dish, added to meat, chicken, game or even seafood stews, or combined with other ingredients and baked as a casserole.

1. Place the dried corn in a large bowl, cover with six cups water and set aside to soak overnight.

2. Early the next day, or at least four hours before serving, drain the corn, place it in a three- to four-quart saucepan and add six cups water. Bring to a simmer and stir in the dried chilies or chili powder, oregano and cinnamon. Simmer uncovered about two and a half hours, until the corn is fairly tender. If necessary, add more water during cooking. At end of cooking period, the mixture should be quite moist but not soupy.

3. Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer, season to taste with salt and cook another 30 minutes. By this time the corn should be barely covered with liquid. Allow it to cool uncovered. It will thicken as it cools.

4. Reheat it to serve as a side dish or use it to make a casserole. Refrigerate any unused cooked hominy and use within a day or freeze it for future use. Yield: 8 to 12 servings Baked Hominy Casserole With Chilies and Chicken Total time: 1 hour, plus soaking and cooking the hominy 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, lard or bacon fat, plus oil or fat for greasing casserole 1 large onion 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped and minced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 cup chopped fresh or canned plum tomatoes 2 cups cubed cooked chicken 1 recipe hominy with red chilies Salt 3 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded or slivered.

2. Heat the oil or fat in a heavy four-quart saucepan. Add the onion and saute over medium-low heat until golden. Stir in the jalapeno peppers and the cumin and saute another few minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook five minutes longer. Add the chicken and bring to a simmer.

3. Stir in cooked hominy with red chilies and cook till mixture simmers again. Season to taste with salt.

4. Spoon the mixture into the casserole. Top with the cheese. Bake in the oven about 30 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown. Serve at once. If desired, the casserole can be prepared in advance and set aside to be baked later. If it is not simmering just before being put in the oven, increase the baking time to about 45 minutes.